Time Stands Still

There are days when time stands still and the moments, in all their richness, lift our hearts in gratitude to the Maker of time and eternity.

Tina and I are playing in the back yard. We are concerned. The grasshopper is turning in circles on the gravel. Is it injured? Tina brings it a blade of grass, which it ignores, so she tries some freshly pulled weeds. Finally the insect gives a big jump, and we breathe a sigh of relief.

And how about the spiders? They seem to be falling off the garage roof, but then we see them climbing back up.

The ants are busy doing their work, and the butterflies . . . how they tease! I wish all you grandpas and grandmas out there the joy of watching a three-year-old in leaping, dancing, laughing pursuit of a butterfly.

And we play with the gravel. The gravel, you ask? Of course the gravel! We collect pretty rocks with stripes, sunshine sparkles, spots and varied colors. The large rocks are school buses and Sunday School buses, and the little rocks ride on them to kindergarten and Sunday School.

Lunch and naptime follow, and after Maria comes home I leave to resume my other duties—shopping, meal prep, housework . . . . But the memories of rippling laughter, creative play, and compassion to the least of God’s creatures live on. Tommy and Tina will not be little for long, but the God Who gives me such joy with them now has given me much in the past and will continue to do so in the future.